


End of the World as We Know it

by Cros3



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Character Death, Confessions, F/M, First Time, Romance, Sexual Content, Shameless Smut, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-01-25 18:55:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18580564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cros3/pseuds/Cros3
Summary: I've had the scene stuck in my head since it aired so I had to draft up my idea of it. This is my first time EVER writing smut so hopefully it didn't go too badly. I hope you guys enjoy it!!





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please Don't Say You Love Me by Gabrielle Aplin is the inspiration for this chapter. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxNYvk_0Onw

“I’m not spending my final moments with you two miserable old shits,” she says as she turns around and silently slips away from the hound and Beric. Now that she wasn’t with them what _did_ she want to do in her final hours? All of the people she was relatively close to seemed to already be off with the people they wanted to spend time with. Well not ALL of the people. Without thinking Arya found herself walking into the forge, she needed to get that weapon from Gendry anyway. As she picked up a bow and began firing arrows thoughts danced through her head as quickly as the arrows hit their target. Gendry was back, and here in Winterfell like she had always wanted. It was all wrong though. The timing was terrible, and she wasn’t even really Arya anymore, was she? She was still trying to get back to herself, to feel again. And Gendry? Well Gendry was still the same as when he had left her all those years ago. Except he seemed stronger now, from the way she had watched his muscles ripple as he worked in the forge that morning. Her thoughts drifted towards about how his calloused hands would feel against her skin, what it might be like to press her lips against his. _Whoa_ where did that come from? She hadn’t thought about things like that in a long time, what with all the running around the world and killing people, she didn’t exactly have time to daydream about her blacksmith friend. Then it really hit her. She only had a few hours left to live, and she would die never knowing what it felt like to be with a man. And not just any man, if she wanted any guy to fuck she could just go find Poddrick since she’s heard so much about him, but a man who she was pretty sure was in love with her. Arya has seen the way the dragon queen looks at her brother, and the way he looks back at her and she knows that’s what love looks like. Gendry gazes at her the same way when he thinks she isn’t looking. She wasn’t sure how to approach him about this, it’s not just something you discuss in everyday conversation when preparing for a war. If he would just show up at his own forge then she could finally get a few moments alone with him. Where was he anyway? Suddenly she was able to sense someone watching her as she let another arrow loose. Arya turns around to face him before he makes his presence known.

 “That for me?” she asks, referring to the weapon in his hands. He hands it over to her and she begins to twirl it around in her hands, testing its weight and how to balance it. It was a fine weapon, Gendry had really perfected his craft.

“This will work,” then there’s a pause.

“Last time you saw me you wanted me to come to Winterfell. Took the long road but,” he trails off at the end.

Well it’s now or never she thinks to herself. There’s only one way she knows to bring up the topic. “What did the red woman want with you?” she asks, still twirling the weapon to keep herself steady.

“She wanted my blood, some kind of spell”

“Why your blood?”

“I’m Robert Baratheon bastard,” he tells her. Now _that’s_ surprising. Her father would be rolling in his grave right now if he knew what she was planning to do.

“I didn’t know until she told me. Then she tied me up, striped me down, put leeches all over me”

Her face falls a bit with this new information. She had figured that he must have been with some girl before during their time apart, she just never wanted one of those girls to be the red woman. It was time for Arya to play her little game with Gendry. She needed to make sure he was still the honest man he was when she was last with him.

“Was that your first time?” she asks coldly

“Uh yeah I’ve never had leeches put all over my cock”

“Your first time with a woman,” she clarifies, wanting to roll her eyes at how bull headed he could be sometimes. She walks over to a crate past Gendry and places her new weapon on top of it.

“What?! I--- I didn’t, I wasn’t with her,”

“Were you with other girls? Before that in King’s Landing, or after?” she questions as she slides her leather gloves off her hands. As she looks at Gendry waiting for his answer she notices he is stumbling on his words. Either he doesn’t want to tell her, or he is buying himself time to think of a lie. She wouldn’t have that happen.

“You don’t remember?”

At that he sighs “yes, I was” he says finally exhaling. Hmm good boy, he didn’t lie to her. She wanted to see if he could keep this up.

“One? Two? Twenty?”

“I didn’t keep count!”

“Yes you did,”

He sighs again, clearly exasperated by her line of questioning “three,” he answers. Again he was honest with her. She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy towards those three girls, for sleeping with _her_ Gendry. She might not have any clue what she was doing, but she planned on making sure he wouldn’t remember who those girls were. “ _Mine”_ she thought to herself as she stalked towards him.

“We’re probably going to die soon,” she begins stopping to stand in from of him. “I ought to know what it’s like before that happens,” she says calmly looking into his piercing blue eyes. Then he is looking at her with the same look Jon gives Daenerys “Arya I—” she cuts him off with a searing kiss before he can get the words out. If she hears him say those words she’s not sure how she will be able to face another one of death’s faces tomorrow. All she has ever known is running. Running from King’s Landing. Running away from the Red Wedding. Running away from Westeros to escape all the death that seemed to follow her. If Gendry tells her those three words, she won’t be strong enough to keep on running. So when she pulls away from him and looks into his eyes again, she can tell he is on board with this. She pulls his lips to hers again, harder this time, wrapping her arm around his neck. Gendry seems to come to life at this, pulling away from her to help her as she unfastened his cloak from his shoulders. His deft fingers quickly undo her scabbard as she unfastens his tunic. Once that garment is off him, she quickly undoes the laces of her own leather tunic, shrugging it off her shoulders as he pulls it off her. He leans down to kiss her again, slipping his tongue inside her mouth, eliciting a soft surprised moan from Arya. He smiles against her lips when he hears her and she almost punches him. Almost. They take off his shirt together and she places a hand against his chest and shoves him hard, watching as he lands on the sacks lying against the wall and floor. She frantically untucks her shirt and unceremoniously tosses it onto the ground amongst the rest of their clothing. Gendry’s eyes drift over her body, resting on the long red scars from her fight against the waif in Braavos. She notices so many questions dancing across his face, threatening to spill out of his mouth, but they don’t have time for them.

“I did what I had to in order to survive. If there ends up being a tomorrow, I’ll answer any question you have,” she says quietly.

That seems to satisfy him, but he still hasn’t moved since she pushed him. “I’m not the red woman, take your own bloody pants off,” she tells him.

He quickly moves to undo his belt, taking his pants off but leaving his small cloths still on. Arya takes off both her pants and small cloths and flicking her hair over her shoulders she moves to straddle his lap. He’s staring at her like she is some kind of goddess, and she leans down to kiss him softly. Imitating him earlier, she slides her tongue into his mouth and his begins to intertwine itself with hers, not quite as aggressive as a fight, but more like a dance. She begins to feel a warmth spread throughout her entire body, condensing low in her belly. Gods she could keep kissing him forever if they had enough time. She feels his cock harden like steel against her thigh. She starts to place kisses on his neck, sucking on the soft flesh there. Gendry’s breathing catches in his throat, and she smiles and gently bites down on the skin she had previously been kissing. She feels a need to mark him, to prove that he is hers. He lets out a growl when she does this and he is quickly pulling her head up so he can leave his own trail of kisses along her neck. Only he doesn’t stop there, kissing his way across her collarbone and over the top of her left breast before he begins to suck on her nipple, swirling his tongue around it. Arya instinctively arches into him, as his hand slowly kneads her other breast, making sure neither is neglected. Her breathing is ragged now and she tugs at his small cloths hoping he gets the message. He pulls away and his hands pull hers away and place them on his shoulders, she looks at him confused.

“Not yet,” he tells her breathless. His eyes are black with desire as he flips them over so he is settled between Arya’s legs. She is still confused by what he means, didn’t men just usually get on with it? He starts up his trail of kisses again, moving from one breast to the other then down her stomach. He kisses across each scar like he could just make them disappear with the sweep of his tongue and lips, and she shudders at the sensation. He continues downward. She watches with curiosity.

“what are you doing?” she finally finds her voice in order to ask him.

He looks up from his kisses of worship and looks into her eyes.

“I told you. You wouldn’t be my family, you’d be milady. I’m going to do what good lords do to their ladies,” he says with a smirk appearing on his face. Before she can yell at him for calling her “milady” he licks a stripe up her folds and the moan that escapes her mouth might be the most un-lady like thing Arya has ever done, and she’s killed people so that list is pretty long. He chuckles and starts to pull away from her but she traps his head between her legs “Don’t you dare stop,” she orders him.

“As milady commands,” and then he closes his lips around the bud at the top of her folds and sucks on it. Her hands fly to his head and she slightly curses him for shaving it, cause she can’t grab onto his hair to ground herself. She moans again and she’s suddenly very grateful that no one else is near the forge. She’s so lost in the pleasure he is making her feel that she doesn’t notice his hand move down her body. Then he slips one finger inside her and she almost comes undo right there. “ _Fuck_ ,” she whispers and he chuckles against her. The vibrations from his laugh make her moan again and the warmth in her belly starts to turn into a flame and she bucks her hips against his face. A second finger joins the first and when he curls them he hits a spot inside her and suddenly it feels like something snaps within her and her muscles contract as she cries out Gendry’s name like a prayer to the gods. He moves back up her body and kisses her again. She can taste herself on his tongue and holy shit it might be the hottest thing she has ever experienced. Her hands roam all over his body. Across his toned chest and abs, around down his back. She moves them back to his front and reaches underneath his small cloths and wraps her small hand around his thick cock. He hisses and curses at the contact and now Arya is the one smirking. He pulls away from her and looks into her eyes.

“Show me?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper. He smiles at her and wraps his hand over her own and guides her in moving in an up and down motion, twisting her wrist a bit every few pumps. Once she finds a rhythm, he removes his hand and places his hands on each side of her head to support himself. He feels so hard but the skin is so soft as it glides up and down, following the movements of her hand. It reminds her of the pommel of a sword, solid but not unyielding like steel. After a few moments he pulls away from her and she worries she’s done something wrong. He leaves a quick kiss on her lips to convince her otherwise “I would be pretty embarrassed if this ended before anything actually started,” he tells her. Grey eyes meet blue and it dawns on her that she’s about to lose her maidenhood.

“Now?” she asks

“Now” he says as he pulls down his small cloths and for a moment Arya wonders how his cock could possibly fit inside her. He looks into her eyes asking for permission, and she gives him a small nod as she puts her hands on his face to pull him down into a kiss. He slowly starts to push into her. It feels like an eternity before he is fully sheathed inside her and a few tears roll down her face at the painful intrusion to her body. She’s been through worse of course, but it still hurts like a bitch. Gendry does everything he can to make her feel relief. He kisses the tears from her cheeks and places gentle kisses all along her face, lips, neck, and shoulders. He lets out a shaky breath, sweat beading down his forehead from the effort not to just relentlessly thrust into her.

“Gods Arya, you feel _so_ good. So tight around me,” he growls against her neck. She places his hands on his shoulders and dig her nails in “Gendry _move_ ,” she breathes out. He gently pulls back and pushes back in, setting a slow rhythm of thrusts. There is still a sting, but with each thrust it gets a bit more replaced with the same pleasure she felt before but magnified. She moans his name and begs him to move faster. He thrusts into her harder and at a quicker pace, and she rakes her nails down his back as she feels the pressure building up again. Gendry puts his arm under one of her legs and hikes it up near her shoulder to penetrate her deeper. He hits that spot inside her again and she crying out again and writhing underneath him. As her muscles contract around his cock, he groans and cums with her name spilling from his lips over and over again. He collapses on top of her and kisses her deeply, before rolling off her and pulling her against his chest.

“Arya, before you kissed me, I wanted to say something,” he starts

“Don’t, please don’t say it. If you do, and you die in the battle I won’t know what to do. You’re my pack Gendry. I just got you back, I can’t lose you,” she whispers, fighting off tears. Oh god earlier she was a stone cold bitch as the Hound had so nicely put it, but now she had let Gendry in both literally AND figuratively and the emotions she had been forced to lock away at the house of black and white were flooding back to her. He wraps his arms around her and kisses the top of her head.

“I have to say it, because if _you_ die and I don’t get to tell you I won’t ever forgive myself,” he responds. She pulls her head out from his chest to stare into those beautiful blue eyes of his. Eyes she had dreamt of so many times over the years, eyes that had prevented her from truly becoming no one because she wasn’t ready to let him go. She isn’t sure she ever will be able to let him go.

“Then what are you waiting for?” she whispers, eyes still locked on his.

He lets out a shaky breath “Arya I love you. I loved you back when we were younger, but I was a stupid bull who was too cowardly to tell you. And I’m sorry I wasn’t there to protect you from whoever did this to you,” pausing to gently run his fingers along the ugly scars on her ribcage, “Gods I love you so _fucking_ much,” he adds.

Arya cups his face in her hand and kisses him with all she has. Letting her rediscovered emotions pour out from her into him through her lips. When she pulls away for air she keeps her hand on his face “I love you too,” she tells him. The smile that breaks out on his face could be enough to bring the light back to the endless night they are about to face. As she rolls over with Gendry’s arms wrapped around her, his breathing slowing as he drifts off to sleep, she thinks maybe. Just maybe. They can survive this war after all.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the Battle of Winterfell and I'm shit at summaries please don't hold it against me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who hates studying for their computer science final even though she loves the major?? THIS girl. Enjoy chapter 2 everyone and yes now it has expanded to a FOUR chapter fic since chapter 2 ended up so lengthy I didn't want to include the slightly humorous idea I have in mind for a post battle but pre time jump chapter. Also please excuse typos/grammar issues, I'm much too lazy to properly edit this and I am the farthest thing from a writing prodigy. This chapter was inspired by the songs Way Down We Go (Stripped) by Kaleo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfLdXqQSnEg) and You Should See Me In a Crown by Billie Eilish (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah0Ys50CqO8)  
> Edit: 4/29/19 - edited the chapter to properly depict Arya motherfucking Stark's shinning moment

Gendry saying that the Others were like death was somehow an understatement. Arya had fought so many of death’s faces but this… this wasn’t one of death’s faces, this was death personified into reanimated bodies. She had been a non-stop killing machine since the battle had started. Could it really be considered killing though? These had all been real people before the Night King caused them to rise again. Perhaps now they could find some sense of peace when they shattered to the ground. With each twirl of her staff and each _thing_ she stabbed she repeated “ _not today, not today, NOT today,”_ over and over in her head, like a mantra. Every chance she gets her eyes dart around to keep tabs on those she cares about. Jon had started off battling alongside us, but when things got worse he climbed upon the green dragon, Rhaegal’s back and took to the air to fight alongside his queen. Her queen too now she reminds herself. She understands why Jon bent the knee to Daenerys now, she was more than just beauty. She fought amongst her people, rallying them to stand their ground and fight for the living, unlike most leaders who cowardly hide behind their army in the safety of castle walls. Arya would be proud to serve as her royal assassin if given the chance. Gendry is doing well for himself, knocking down waves of the wights with his war hammer like the bull she knows he is, while the Hound would stab them with his dragonglass sword on the ground. They made quite a team. She continues to fight against the creatures but they seem to be never ending. Exhaustion is starting to get the best of her, and her muscles scream out in protest of every slash and stab but her movements do not slow. This is instinct to her, killing had been all she’s known up until last night when Gendry showed her what living could feel like. A few minutes pass and she looks to Gendry and the Hound again. They were becoming overwhelmed as one of the commanders, or White Walkers as Jon called them began to approach them. Fear grips Arya’s body like the ice within the hearts of these beings. “ _No not him,”_ she thinks to herself. She let No One take over her body then, as she easily began to slice a path toward Gendry and Clegane and started to run towards them. She takes a dagger to the thigh from one of the things, but she grits her teeth and pushes forward. As she approaches the Walker slashes the Hound in the gut, causing him to howl out in pain and collapse to the ground bleeding. The White Walker ready’s a strike against Gendry and before he can cut him down, she is jumping in front of the blade, holding needle up to block the blow. The sword of ice cuts clean through her beloved blade and Arya stands there in shock. She reaches out to grip Gendry’s hand as she looks into the eyes of the Walker. The eyes of death. A piercing blue, just like the eyes of her love, but full of coldness and evil instead. “ _today,”_ she thinks to herself and braces for the killing blow she knows is about to hit her. The blade has skimmed the skin of her side, starting to slice into her when it suddenly disappears with a great force. Arya opens her eyes again to see Nymeria shredding through the Walker with her teeth and claws. She lets out a growl as she tears at its throat, clearly confused as to why it hasn’t died yet. Arya unfreezes then, darting forward as fast as her injured leg allows her to stab the thing in the chest with her Valyrian steel dagger. It screams an unholy sound as it shatters like glass, causing thousands of wights around them to collapse to the ground, dead. Nymeria whirls around to face Gendry and growls while his eyes widen in fear of the wolf that stands as tall as a horse.

“Nymeria, no!” she commands. The she-wolf turns her head to look at her, waiting for what she says next.

“He’s pack. Protect him like you would me,” she tells her. Her wolf blinks once, seemingly understanding the words Arya has said before she throws her head up and howls. Out of the woods pours more than sixty wolves who dash into the battle and breathe life into the remaining soldiers. She is about to dive back into the battle when a hand clutches around her leg. She prepares to stab the wight that somehow managed to survive when she realizes it’s the Hound. He is looking at her with a desperate look on his face, one she has seen him wear before.

“Little she-wolf, do me a favor and end it this time. There’s no chance for me now,” he gurgled blood trailing out of his mouth. She tried to justify convince him that he could survive this, but the only thing keeping his intestines inside his body was the hand he held over the wound and she knew. She kneels down next to him and holds her dagger firmly in her hands.

“Don’t worry I learned where the heart is now,” she tells him and he lets out a strangled laugh at her comment. Tears threaten to form in her eyes. She owed her life to Sandor Clegane because he refused to let her get herself killed where her mother and brother had been slaughtered. He annoyed her to her wits end while they traveled. He did everything he could to reunite her with her family. He taught her where the heart is. He fought for her. And now she had to kill him.

“I’m sorry,”

“Hey now, that’s not the cold hearted bitch I talked to last night on the battlements. I’m not sure what you became after you abandoned me, but I would rather die by your hand than one of theirs. Now get on with it!” he growls at her. Arya raises her dagger right above his heart and plunged it in and pulled it out just as quick. He was gone within seconds.

“Valar Morghulis,” she whispers as she uses her fingertips to close his eyes shut. She knew he had wanted to kill his brother whenever they went to King’s Landing and she vowed to do it in his honor. She would do it with his face though. As she begins the precise incisions along the side of his face, she knew it was morbid. However, she also knew that he would have wanted it this way. He was as twisted as she was when it came to things like that. As she lifts the hounds face off his head she notices Gendry staring at her. He wasn’t horrified though, he seemed curious.

“We still have to survive this in order for me to tell you,” she informs him.

He nods and gets back to fighting. She stands up, gently placing her new face in the pouch around her waist before she also begins to fight again. She hears the screech from one of the dragons, the black one, Drogon and she notices Daenerys falling off his back. Luckily her fall wasn’t too far and Arya sprints over to her before Jon can notice and stop attacking from the air himself. The creature stands over the queen, protecting her under his wing and he roars at Arya as she approaches. She stops in her tracks and gently holds her hand out towards the dragon.

“I’m not one of them. Let me help her,” she says praying she doesn’t end up a pile of ashes in the spot she’s standing. Drogon carefully moves his wing so that she can go to the fallen queen. She sits beside her and her blue eyes flutter open and Arya breathes a sigh of relief.

“What happened? Are you wounded?” she asked looking for signs of blood but not finding any. Daenerys grabs Arya’s hand and gives her a tired smile

“I’m alright, I strained myself to much. The fall took my breath away, can you do me a favor? Is there any blood?” she asks her voice emotionless.

“Blood? I mean you’re not injured by any sort of spear or arrow, and it doesn’t seem like you hit your head hard so no I don’t see blood,”

The queen shakes her head “No, no, along my legs on my pants is there blood?” she clarifies. Arya lifts up the fur coat Dany is wearing and sees nothing.

“There isn’t blood. Care to fill me in, your grace?” she says a bit curt at the end of her sentence. The mask the queen had been wearing broke and she sobbed in relief as her hands rested low on her abdomen and it clicks with Arya. Daenerys was pregnant, probably with Jon’s child. Arya’s eyes bulge out of her head “Does Jon know?” she asks her.

“He doesn’t, and I would prefer if you didn’t say anything to him. Jon and I have a… complication I guess you could call it. That’s for him to tell you though. All I care about right now is that this child is still alive. Thank you Arya,” she says in that powerful queenly voice of hers.

“Can you help me up?” she asks. Arya wraps her arms around the queen and hoists her up and before she can help her get back up onto Drogon’s back, Ghost appears at the queens side to support her. She knows the Direwolf won’t allow Dany back on the dragon’s back after what just happened, but she also knows she will be safe under the protection of both animals. Arya moves to start fighting again but she’s pushed the limits of her injured leg and bleeding side wound and she falls to the ground. Nymeria is at her side in an instant bowing down next to her and at first she doesn’t understand. Her Direwolf yips at her and she can sense the word _“ON”_ flash through her mind. She swings her uninjured leg over Nymeria’s back and grabs onto her fur tightly with her nondominant hand. This was more awkward than a horse that’s for damn sure, but it was better than her sitting on the ground like a giant target. The giant wolf leaps over the trench and bounds into the courtyard of Winterfell. She drops her off at one of the side entrances to the castle and nuzzles her face into Arya’s chest before diving back into the battle with her teeth and claws. Arya notices a heard of wights coming towards her and for the first time in years she feels fear. One of the wights shoves her down, cracking her head against the stone wall and she stabs it with a dragonglass dagger before pulling herself up and running down the halls. She’s running for her life and she knows it. After what feels like an eternity she slows down to a walk and carefully approaches the door to the library. She opens the door and quietly slips inside. She can hear the shuffling of the wights as they moved around the room mindlessly searching for a target to kill. Arya focuses to regulate her breathing and keep herself silent. She begins weaving through the bookshelves like Jaquen taught her, and she slides under a table and contemplates her next move. A drop of blood falls from the wound on her forehead with a dripping sound that fills the whole room and Arya’s heart leaps into her throat. The wight near her hears the sound and shuffles towards her hiding spot to investigate, but as he bends down in a horrifying contorted way, she moves to the nearest bookcase unnoticed. She makes her move to the exit and finds herself face to face with a wight. Acting on instinct along she plunges her dagger into its throat and it went limp against her body. She shrugs it off of her and finds herself at a wall of wights. She rolls over them, landing at the staircase below and she starts to fight her way through but she realizes they will overpower her any minute now. She would make sure she went down kicking and screaming that’s for sure. She twirls and slashes and gives it everything she has but gods she is exhausted. What was the point anyway? They didn’t stand a chance! She hoped that wherever she ended up after death that at least she could be with Gendry. One night wasn’t enough for her. She still had so much life to live. So much life to experience with him by her side! The wights are closing in on her more now and when she thinks it is all about to end she is violently yanked towards a clear path by Beric. A man she had put on her list for stealing Gendry from her. Ironic that he was saving her life now.  

“Go through that door!” He yells at her.

Without hesitation she runs in the direction he gestured and watches as he uses is body as a shield against the wall to keep the wights from her. She makes it through the door and he collapses through with her and she slams it shut. Barricading it with a bench and chair. She props Beric up against the wall and she wants to thank him for what he has done, but the light fades from his eyes before either one of them can say anything.

“The lord brought him back for a purpose. Now that purpose has been served,” she whirls around to face the Red Woman.

“I know you,”

“And I know you,”

“You said we’d meet again,”

“And here we are… at the end of the world,”

“You said I’d shut many eyes forever. You were right about that too,”

“Brown eyes. Green eyes,” the woman pauses and Arya nods her head as she lists the colors of those she has killed.

“and _blue_ eyes,” she finishes. Arya’s eyes lock with the woman’s and she understands what she must do. The woman walks to stand behind her,

“What do we say to the god of death?” she whispers into her ear.

“Not today,” she responds, her new found purpose reigniting her fighting spirit. Without another word she runs off to do what only she can. In her run to the Godswood she fully transforms into No One for the first time. Jaquan had been wrong, distancing herself from who she was could never make her No One. She had to _embrace_ her identify fully in order to properly serve the many faced god. The speed in which she reaches her brother is inhuman. She dances past the white walkers and hones in on her target. All her training has led to this moment. Jon had already fought him, and Jon had lost. Arya would not. She leaps in the air like the cats she used to chase around King’s Landing and yells a battle cry as she brings her left arm back to strike with the Valyrian steel dagger Bran had given her. With movements as quick as her own the Night King is facing her, one hand closes around her throat, and the other around her wrist to prevent the blade from piercing his neck. She can’t breathe from the pressure on her neck, she has only a moment to succeed before he slaughters her. This is exactly what she planned. She had counted on him stopping her wielding hand. Her eyes bore into his and all she sees is death. He is the most terrifying of death’s faces without a doubt. She releases the dagger from her left hand and as it falls, the Night King’s eyes drift down to follow it. Her right hand is there to catch it, the same trick she had fooled Brianne with. Death has no time to react before the mysterious weapon is plunged into the kink in his armor near his chest. He shatters apart like glass during a fire. A domino effect begins and the rest of the walkers shatter apart and the wights drop to the ground. Arya is crouched on the ground panting to catch her breath. Part of her is in disbelief that a simple sleight of hand trick was able to fool an eight thousand year old being. The other part is exhilarated. Jon is going to be soooo pissed at her when he finds out, after all she had totally just stolen his kill. But hey, she didn’t see him anywhere around the Godswood currently! Theon stares at her with wide eyes, Bran wears the same expression he always does now. He doesn’t seem surprised that she killed the Night King. Maybe he knew the whole time and that’s why he gifted her the dagger in this very spot. She stands up and calls for her Direwolf, praying she lasted during the time Arya was gone. The she-wolf bounds to Arya within moments, covered in the black sludge that oozed from the wights. She grabs onto Nymeria for support and limps her way through the battlefield. She sees Jon trying to comfort Daenerys as she sobs into his chest over the body of Jorah Mormont, Drogon curled around his mother in an effort to comfort her and share her grief. As her wolf helps her approach them she hears the queen muttering “My poor sweet bear” repeatedly as Jon tries to tell her they need to burn his body with the rest of them. Her eyes lock with his “He was the first person who ever believed in me. He protected me. Everything he did was because he loved me. He deserves better than burning in a pile of other bodies. He will be burned alone in a pyre, in the Dothraki tradition that earned me his loyalty in the first place,” she says and Jon nods in understanding before letting her go so he could look at Arya. He is a bit stunned by Nymeria’s size since wild living had allowed her to grow much larger than his own wolf but he quickly composed himself and began to examine Arya.

“You’re bleeding, how bad is it? You need to see the master right away so it doesn’t become infected”

“Jon, I’m much better off than most of the wounded, I can wait,” she informs him.

“Why were you in the Godswood?”

She smirks at him “Well someone had to kill the Night King,”

Jon’s eyes widen and the shock is evident on his face.

“H—how is that possible? What did you do?”

She holds out the dagger towards her brother “Pretty easy actually, just had to stick him with the pointy end,” she says with a wink.

“Gods Arya, you really need to tell me what you’ve actually been up to all these years,” he says.

Suddenly she realizes she hasn’t seen Gendry since she stopped Nymeria from ripping his throat out. Panic seizes her body and she looks at her brother.

“Where’s Gendry?!” she nearly screams at him.

“I--I don’t know, I’ve been a little distracted trying to get a count of who survived. I haven’t seen him,” Arya is already forcing Nymeria to lead her away from Jon before she can hear him finish talking. Around the courtyard she sees her sister with a bloody Theon, Tyrion with Sir Davos and Varys, The captain of the Unsullied desperately kissing the woman who was the queen’s friend to be honest Arya had forgotten her name, too many to keep track of. She didn’t see her Gendry anywhere. She swears to all the gods out there that if he is dead she will find a way to bring his ass back to life just so she can kill him all over again. Suddenly she stumbles backwards into someone and she turns around. Her favorite pair of blue eyes are staring into hers and they aren’t filled with blankness that was in the eyes of the Night King. He’s bleeding a bit from some minor wounds but he’s here, and he’s alive, and he’s _hers._ Before he can say anything she starts assaulting him with her small fists.

“You stupid, _stupid_ bull, I thought I had lost you again,” she said as tears start to spill from her eyes. He grabs her arms and gives her a soft smile.

“I knew you would have killed me if I had died, so I made sure to make it back to you m’lady,” alright maybe he wasn’t so stupid after all. She begins her assault on him again only this time it’s not with her fists. Their lips are pressed so tightly together Arya is sure they will bruise but she doesn’t care. She gets lost in the feeling of his lips, his tongue, and his warmth. She presses one of her hands against his chest just to feel the racing rhythm of his heart to confirm he was really living. They pull away from each other when the need for air becomes more important than their need for each other and she smiles at him. Arya quickly becomes aware that they had basically started to dry hump each other right there in the courtyard and a blush creeps over her checks when she notices Sansa’s mouth gapping at her. She has Gendry and Nymeria help her over to her sister who still hasn’t changed her expression.

“Oh get over it, just be happy that I’m not still threatening to walk around wearing your face to scare you,” her sister rolls her eyes at that.

“Guess you’re right it is better than you being the little weirdo you’ve been since returning home. Makes you seem somewhat normal. I have to warn you though, Jon _might_ kill him,” a smirk turning up the corners of her mouth.

“Well at least Gendry still has a cock. Sorry Theon,” she says shooting the Greyjoy an apologetic glance, but he chuckles a bit at the comment and chimes in,

“You just saved my life, and everyone else’s. You’ve earned yourself an insult at my behalf,”

“He won’t when Jon finds out!” Sansa tells her.

“Eh fuck off Sansa,” she says with a smile. She used to believe that being alone gave her a better chance at survival since death seemed to follow her everywhere she went. Now she knows her father had been right, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives. The only part he where was wrong with that saying is that pack didn’t have to only be the Starks. Pack could be whoever they wanted it to be. Whoever they _needed_ it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope my idea of the battle satisfied you. More character's have died and I will name them all next chapter but while writing this between study breaks for stats and computer science exams, this is who I imagine Arya would pay the closest attention too during the fight/ care most about their death. Also I liked the idea of Arya still wanting to be an assassin fueled by revenge, but no longer only her revenge. Almost vigilante like, wanting to kill those who have caused the most harm to others but still haven't met their fate.


	3. NOTE

Just stating I will be rewriting chapter 2 in order to reflect tonight’s episode because holy.fucking.shit EDIT: Chapter 2 has officially been edited, hope you enjoy


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A girl has survived her finals and is finally free for the summer so enjoy the chapter!

The next few days pasted by like a blur. Arya didn’t have one second to even get to talk her family and friends. They were busy burning the bodies and tallying those who were still alive, and discussing how to tackle the new war against Cersei. Finally a day comes when she can finally rest a bit. She had needed stitches in her leg, her side, and her face, but they would heal with time even though she was still limping around from the stiffness in the leg. Arya was hailed a hero by the northerners and the Dragon Queen herself. Some had even given her Jaimie’s old title of ‘Kingslayer’. She had always hoped it would be ‘Queenslayer’, but she did _love_ having some sort of title that didn’t revolve around being a lady. She is on her way to ask queen Daenerys a question when Jon pulls her aside into the Winterfell library saying he needed to tell her something. Once they are both seated she notices that this information is weighing heavily on him.

“Does this have something to do with the dragon queen?”

“Aye, it does. I’m still not sure how to discuss it with her. When I was leaving for the Wall your father promised he would tell me about my mother when we next saw each other, but we never did,”

 _“your father?”_ that’s odd Jon never referred to him as only her father. She looked at him waiting for him to continue.

Jon takes a deep breath before he starts up again.

“Sam found records. Records that told of an official marriage between Rheagar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. He didn’t kidnap her, and he didn’t rape her. They were in love. The day he died on the trident, Lyanna gave birth to a baby boy. She gave him to her brother, your father, and she made him promise to keep him safe. His name, my name is Aegon Targaryen,”

Not many things surprise Arya now, but this did. “So Daenerys is your Aunt?” she asks.

He nods “I don’t know what to do. Everything is telling me to stay away from her because we are related, but I love her. She doesn’t seem to care about that part though, she’s convinced herself that I am going to take the Iron Throne from her. I never wanted _any_ of the titles I have been given,” he says with a sigh.

“Well I might not be great with advice, unless you need to know how to kill someone. But trust me Jon you _really_ need to go talk to her. She doesn’t care about the fact that your related because she was probably raised believing she would marry her brother, her nephew is an upgrade from that! And about the throne issue, tell her what you just told me,”

He chuckles, “Did killing the Night King suddenly make you wise?”

“Not so much. I probably learned the most from Tywin Lannister. I spent some time as his cupbearer. I think he may have known who I was, but he never did anything about it if he did,” she tells her brother, ah shit, cousin now.

“You really are quite the enigma aren’t you?” he says in disbelief.

“Have you told Sansa yet?”

“Of course not, though she will probably be thrilled to learn that I have no right to the North,”

“But you’re still a Stark, you’re name doesn’t matter! It’s not like I will _ever_ call you Aegon, you were raised a Stark. Your mother was a Stark. That makes you one through and through,”

“I really did miss you,” he says as he walks over and wraps his arms around her in a hug. As he pulls away to smile at her his face scrunches up in confusion, “Arya… what is that on your neck?”

She’s equally as confused for a second and she brings her hand up to the skin there and feels the bruise she remembers Gendry left on her the night after the Battle (sadly they didn’t have time for anything more than that because of how busy they were). _Fuck_ Jon can’t find out like this. Keeping her hand on her neck she begins to back away from him towards the door.

“Oh um, must be a bruise I got during the fight? It’s nothing! I—um need to go talk to Daenerys,” she says, but Jon grabs her arm before she can flee from him.

“I wasn’t born yesterday. Did you really think I would believe a Walker did that to you? They don’t exactly have a taste for sucking on people’s necks. Who did it?”

“Jon, the Night King grabbed me by the throat! I almost was strangled by him. It’s very inconsiderate of you to question your savior,” she says with a jesting tone.

“It’s different than the marks from his fingers. Who.Did.It,” he says his tone dark.

“It’s none of your business! Unless you want me to start judging you for fucking your aunt,” she retorts. Jon let’s go of her arm and sighs again.

“Eh alright, I’ll let it slide for now. But if I notice anything again, I’ll kill the guy!” he says with a soft smile. Arya flashes him a victory grin before she walks out of the library and towards the queen’s chambers. She knocks on the door.

 

            The queen answers and smiles at her warmly “Arya, I’m glad to see you’re doing better than when I last saw you,” she says and widens the door to allow Arya to walk through. She hears the door gently close behind her.

“Thank you for killing the Night King, I am certain we would all have met our deaths without you,” she says.

“ _Valar morghūlis_ ,” she simply replies. The queen hums in agreement.

“Ah yes, well lucky for us, we are not men,”

Arya smiles at that, she should have guessed Daenerys would speak Valyrian. The queen moves to sit down and Arya follows her lead and sits in the chair across from her.

“Your Grac—”

“Please, Daenerys is fine. I suppose Jon told you hmm?”

“Alright, Daenerys. And yes he did. He doesn’t care about the throne you know? And if you think he does and that’s all you care about, then you’re not the woman I thought you were,” she says coldly.

The queen frowns and shakes her head “No, no I don’t care about that. I guess I was just shocked when he told me, and that was the only thought I managed to process. I’ve worked and fought my entire life for the seven kingdoms, to earn respect, and it angered me that my years of work could be undone by some writing on a piece of paper. People would support Jon over me simply because he is a man,” then she sighs

“Alright maybe he _would_ make a better leader than me as he isn’t so hot headed. But that’s why I think it would work best to rule together, as equals. Where I can be to temperamental and rash with my decisions, he is calm and thoughtful. Where he is too trusting and honorable, I am skeptical and reactive. We balance each other perfectly,” she finishes. The corners of Arya’s mouth turn up a bit at her words.

“Well, you certainly are better at speeches than Jon is. You need to tell him about the baby though, he will forget all about this once you do,”

“You’re right, I plan on it. He probably has some kind of idea, Ghost hasn’t left my side since the battle,”

Arya laughs “No he doesn’t, Jon knows nothing!”

The queen smiles at her then “Perhaps you are right. I’m sure you didn’t come here to discuss Jon though, what do you need?” she asks.

Arya thinks for a moment how best to pose her question to the queen without upsetting her.

“It’s about Gendry, the blacksmith,”

“Oh he did very fine work on the weapons! You’re sister told me he is crafting armor for Jon and me now, what about him?”

“Well… I’m sure you know that he is a bastard. I wanted to ask you if you would be willing to legitimize him?” she asks cautiously.

“I would need to know what house he is from in order to do that,”

“He is Robert Baratheon’s son,”

The queen’s eyes close as she takes a deep breath “The Usurper killed my brother, killed Jon’s father! How can I possibly justify legitimizing one of his bastards?”

“Because I need you to. To be honest he would probably be furious with me if he knew I was asking you about this as he has never wanted anything to do with his father, but I’ve never been very good at listening to him so here I am. I love him, and Jon will be _far_ less likely to geld him for “defiling” me if he was officially a Baratheon. Plus I figured now is the best time for me to call in a favor, giving that I said all our asses,” she said. She hated the fact that she felt the need to ask for this, it’s not like she cares that he is a bastard, but the binding rules of society loved to ruin her fun.

“Of course you can say no your grace, but then if Jon murders him, then I’ll have to kill you and I really don’t want to do that. It would be _exhausting._ I also have far too many faces now, I wouldn’t have anywhere to keep yours,” she says with a deadly smirk. Daenerys raises an eyebrow up at Arya. Perhaps she would be a worthy opponent in the game of faces.

“Lady Arya, you are right. If I say no, which I very easily could and probably should, it would led to a very long string of deaths and that would certainly be a shame after you saved the realm. So I will legitimize your blacksmith. I’ll ask Tyrion to write up the document and I will have it signed by tomorrow, we will announce it at the next council meeting,” she says. Arya is a bit stunned but she doesn’t let it show.

“Not many people have the courage to threaten me, it’s oddly refreshing in a way? I have no doubts that you could kill me and no one would ever know it was you, but I would much rather you fight _for_ me than against me if you would be willing,” she says. A genuine smile appears on Arya’s face at that “I would be honored Daenerys. Now I should go tell Gendry, and you should have that conversation with my brother,” she says. She bows to the queen before she exits and is greeted by Nymeria outside the door.

She scratches the wolf in-between her ears and her eyes close in approval. Honestly she hadn’t expected the she-wolf to stick around too long past the battle, but it seemed like Nymeria enjoyed the company of her kind in Ghost, and having food handed to her whenever she wanted. Arya was shocked at how deep their connection had become in such a short time, it was almost like they could communicate with each other through their thoughts. Very, very basic thoughts, but it was something special that was certain. She walks with the wolf to the courtyard and they part ways once Arya reaches the forge. She leans up against the wall and watches as a shirtless Gendry pounds away at the sword on the anvil. Last he had told her he was trying to use Drogon’s dragon fire to learn how to craft Valyrian steel. Gods he was attractive. It had been _far_ too long since she had a private moment with him, and she didn’t plan on letting another day pass without getting her fill of him.

“You figure it out yet?” she calls out to him as she stalks towards him.

He stops his work to look at her, a bit thrown off by the interruption.

“Uh no not yet. Seems like it has to be something other than just dragon fire, my guess is it might need the blood of old Valyria added into the mixture immediately after it’s been heated. Those Valyrian bastards sure did love their blood magic,”

“So you need the Queen’s blood?”

“Aye I do, plan on asking her at the next council meeting,”

“About that. She’s going to announce something about you next meeting,”

“Arya, what did you do?”

“Well I figured if I ever had a chance to ask the queen to do something for me, now would be my only chance,” she says matter-of-factly.

“That doesn’t answer my question m’lady. What did you ask her?” he clarifies.

She scowls “Don’t call me that! And I asked her to legitimize you. She will announce you as Gendry Baratheon, Lord of Storm’s End at the next meeting,”

Gendry drops his hammer at her words.

“FUCK,” he curses as it lands on his foot. Arya does her best to stifle her laughter because she knows this is a serious moment, but gosh he could be so clumsy.

“You did that. For me? Why in seven hells would you do that?” he asks.

She moves so she’s right in front of him and she looks up into his eyes.

“Because sooner or later Jon is going to find out about us. And while I couldn’t care less what your surname is, he will go absolutely mad. He won’t if you’re a Baratheon though,”

“A bit hypocritical of him! He’s a bastard too,”

“It’s a long story, but no he’s not,” she says. Gendry finally stops gaping at her like a fish and smiles.

“I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to thank you m’lady,” he tells her as he places a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Arya smirks at him “I have an idea how,” his eyes get a playful glint in them at her words.

“And what might that be?” he asks coyly. Wordlessly she grabs his hand and begins to pull him across the courtyard. She leads him through the winding hallways of Winterfell’s castle, making sure they don’t run into anyone along the way. She goes through the open door to her chambers and closes the door behind Gendry. He seems to have caught onto her plan because within seconds he has her back pinned against her door and his lips are claiming hers in a desperate kiss. She gasps as her back slams against the wood, and he takes the opportunity to slip his tongue inside her parted lips. She wraps her arms around his neck as she tangles her tongue with his. _Two can play this game_ , she thinks to herself as she runs her fingers over Gendry’s short hair and scratches her nails along his scalp. He growls, then lifts her up, wrapping her legs around his waist and bucking his hips into hers sending shivers down her spine and wetness to dampen her small cloths. Their last encounter had been hurried, and at least right _now_ Arya didn’t feel like getting fucked against a door like some tavern whore. She pulls away from Gendry and runs a hand along his cheek,

“Can we move over there?” she asks softly, gesturing towards her bed with her head. Gendry seems to remember his manners at the sudden pause and he smiles at her and places a soft kiss to her lips,

“As m’lady commands,” he says, turning around and carrying her over before he gently places her on the edge of the soft bed. He sinks to his knees in front of her and she sits up so she’s eye level with him. As she gazes into those wonderful blue eyes of his, she can see all the love he has for her in them. The hope he had over wishing she was alive. The fear that he had almost lost her again. The disbelief that he was here in her room, almost in her bed with her. She sees it all in eyes, and she is overcome with emotion for this man. Surely he is too good to be hers right? She pushes that thought aside and tries to give him the same look as he is giving her. She’s not sure how to convey that much emotion through just her eyes, so she decides to add her words.

“I love you,” she whispers against his lips before she kisses him again. He fervently kisses her back, but the kisses are much slower this time. There is more than just lust or desire pour through them. His hands move to the laces on her leather tunic and he slowly undoes them and once he’s finished she shrugs the garment off her shoulders and pushes it to the floor. Since Gendry was shirtless to begin with she runs her hands down his shoulders and back, feeling each prominent muscle underneath his skin. He pulls away from her to pull her shirt off her body and he begins to kiss every inch of the newly uncovered skin of her top half. The slow kisses he placed had purpose, as he had all the time in the world to kiss her and memorize her body. He was driving Arya absolutely _mad,_ he was kissing her everyone except where she wanted him to.

“Gendry, don’t you _dare_ tease me,” she said, and while she tried to sound authoritative, instead she sounded desperate. He chuckles and without a word latches onto one of her nipples and swirls his tongue around the sensitive flesh, and nips on it causing Arya to let out a breathless moan. Her hands move to his front and deftly unties his pants and small cloths before she gently pushes them down his hips. He kicks them off the rest of the way and gently pushes her back on her bed, and gets back to kissing her, this time paying attention to the other breast while his hand gently massaged the other. She reaches between them and wraps her hand around his cock, slowly gliding her hand up and down in the motions he had taught her the other night. His eyes close and he lets out a shaky breath before he quickly rids Arya of her pants and small cloths. She uses her free hand to pull his face to hers in a kiss and she uses the moment to flip him over so she is on top of him, straddling his hips. She had wanted to be in this position last time, but her inexperience made her uncertain, so she had let Gendry take the led then. But not today. He looks up at her in awe,

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers and suddenly he’s kissing her again. He nips and sucks on her bottom lip and she moans into his mouth. His hand moves downward and he presses his thumb against her clit and moves his thumb in slow circles over the buddle of nerves. One of his fingers slides between her folds and he presses it inside of her. She sighs in pleasure at the welcome intrusion. He kisses her as he thrusts the finger in and out of her in an achingly slow manner. Only once she’s whimpering against his lips does her insert another finger inside her and she greedily grinds down on his hand in an attempt to quell the flame that burned in her belly. He moves the digits in and out of her all while he still rubs the bud at the base of her thighs. Arya’s pants turn to moans and Gendry’s movements pick up the pace. Her nails dig into his shoulders and she kisses him as the pressure that had been building up inside her finally releases as she orgasms. He stops his ministrations once she comes down from her high and sucks a small bruise onto her collarbone. He seemed to enjoy marking her as much as she enjoyed doing the same to him. Guess they were both possessive that way, although it’s not like she would have anyone else this way. Arya grinds her hips against his, covering his cock in her wetness and she lifts herself up to guide him inside her. She grabs his cock and slowly sinks down onto it, sheathing him inside her. It is _much_ less painful than last time, and there is only a dull sting at the initial movement. She places her hands on his chiseled chest and rocks herself forward in backward in the same movement one would ride a galloping horse and she allows Gendry’s hands to guide her hips in the motion. Once she gets used to the rhythm she starts to pick up the pace a bit, and Gendry’s hands roam all over the front of her body, squeezing her breasts, tracing the path of old and new scares, and even gently wrapping one hand around her neck and applying a gentle pressure. Arya moans when he does this and he smirks before thrusting his hips up to meet her movements and at that she cries out as he hits that amazing spot inside her.

“Hmm you like that huh?” he mutters as he releases her neck to wrap his arm around her body and he sits up so he can kiss her to begin another dance between their tongues. He uses his free arm to support himself on the bed in order to continue thrusting up in time with the pace she was setting. Gods she could get used to this. She wanted this with him every day if that was possible. With each sway of her hips he moans against her and she knows that he is near his peak. She is just _so_ damn close it would be a real shame if he finished before she could again. So she guides the arm that was around her body to the tight space where their bodies are joined together. Gendry gets the point quickly and rubs circles into her clit just as he had earlier. Each time his hips meet hers he hits that same spot and with the combination of his thumb against her it doesn’t take long before her inner muscles contract around his cock, and she’s moaning his name as she bites down _hard_ onto his shoulder. As soon as she comes down from her peak his upwards thrusts falter and he groans and whispers her name in her ear as he spills himself inside of her. He collapses back onto her bed and she lifts herself off of him and lies down next to him and looks at him with a blissful smile on her face. Gendry smiles back,

“You’re a fast learner,”

“It’s not like it’s that complicated!” she retorts followed by a laugh. He kisses the top of her head before he stands up and walks over to the wash basin to grab a cloth and wet it in the water. He brings it back over to her and gently cleans up the mess between her thighs from his seed. After he finishes he lies back down next to her, wraps her in his arms and pulls her against his chest. There’s nothing but the sound of his steady heart beat for a few minutes before he lifts her chin up to look at him.

“You promised me you would tell me how this happened to you,” he says running his fingers along her scars. She sighs,

“I did. After you got sold off the Hound decided he would bring me to my brother and mother in exchange for ransom. We got to the twins on the night of the Red Wedding. He knocked me out before I could get myself killed, but I still saw what they did to Robb,” she starts.

“What did they do?” he asks.

“They cut off his head, sewed his Direwolf, Grey Wind’s head onto his body and paraded him around on horseback. Before we fought the dead, it had been the worst thing I had ever seen. Maybe it still is, it was awful,” she whispers as tears well in her eyes.

“I’m so sorry, you should have never had to see him like that, the Frey’s were wrong for that,” he says giving her a gentle squeeze.

“House Frey has already paid for their crimes against my family. After that Clegane and I tried to go to my aunt at the Eyrie, turns out she died the day before we got there. We wandered around a bit since the Hound had no clue what to do with the orphan girl with no living adult relatives, and that’s when Ser Brianne found us. She had made some stupid oath to my mother to protect Sansa and I, but the Hound didn’t trust her so they fought. She defeated him but I hide among the rocks so she wouldn’t force me to go with her. Once she left I went down to Clegane, robbed him and left him there to die. I went to the nearest docks with a boat sailing to Braavos and used the coin Jaquan gave me to secure passage for myself. When I got there I went to the House of Black and White, where I began my training to join the Faceless Men,”

“Ah so is that why you took the Hounds face off?” he interrupts.

“Yes, but it took a long time to get there. Training there was brutal. I washed the bodies for them, swept the floors and played the game of faces with a woman called the Waif. I would explain the game but it’s complicated. I was tasked with assuming the identify of a girl working at the docks selling oysters, and to gain information on a captain there. Eventually they made me kill him. After that I discovered Meryn Trant in the city, he was on my list, so I stole a face from the hall of faces and murdered him by posing as a young girl in a brothel. I wasn’t supposed to kill him though, as the many faced god hadn’t been promised his face. Jaquen punished me by blinding me,” she pauses

“Well I _thought_ it was punishment at the time, turns out it was training. Heightening my other senses so I could hear better, smell better, _feel_ the vibrations of peoples movements. I was a blind beggar in the streets during that time and the Waif beat me senseless with a staff on a daily basis until one day I blocked her blow with my own staff. I was given my eyes back not long after that, and given another assignment. I was meant to observe an actress named Lady Crane in order to learn the most discreet way to kill her,”

“I’m guessing you couldn’t do it,” he says.

She shakes her head “No I couldn’t because I learned that another actress wanted to kill her only out of jealously, she hadn’t done anything wrong. After I failed in killing her, Jaqen forced me to leave and tasked the Waif with killing me. At one point she caught up to me and stabbed me, giving those scars. Lady Crane cared for me though, she saved my life,” Arya says, remembering the kind woman. She finishes telling her tale to Gendry who runs his hand up and down her back absentmindedly as she speaks. He looks at her once she finishes.

“I should have been there with you,” he tells her. She places a kiss on his cheek.

“Oh how I wish you were, but then I wouldn’t be who I am now,” she says.

“I was such an angry kid, I always thought I was angry at the people who hurt my family and that was part of it, but I think I was actually mad at _them_ , my father for being so honorable he got himself killed, my mother for giving up on looking for me just cause I wasn’t in King’s Landing, and Robb for being so foolish. Once I realized who my anger was actually directed at, I worked to forgive them for things they didn’t control,” Gendry nods in understanding at this

“As much as I want to stay here with you in my arms for the rest of tonight, we should get to the feast. It’s in your honor after all,” he says.

 

            Arya watches as Gendry enters the main hall first, in order to not make people suspicious. Or more suspicious than they already were. She looks up at Nymeria who quietly padded up beside her.

“Ready girl?” she says to the wolf who simply huffs in reply. Nymeria and her walk together into the hall and once everyone notices their presence they all rise and applaud her. Queen Daenerys signals for everyone to silence and she raises her cup in the air toward Arya

“There are many people I have to thank tonight, but most importantly I must thank Lady Arya Stark, our Hero of the Dawn. Without her, we would all surly be dead. Lady Arya, I will forever be indebted to you, but I would be honored if you joined as one of my advisors as I would value your opinion in the war to come,” the queen says.

“I would be honored to serve you, my queen,” Arya replies. She notices that Jon’s arm is wrapped around Daenerys’s waist “ _they must have made up, good!”_ she thinks to herself. The queen smiles and waits for the excitement in the room to die down before she continues,

“There is someone else I wish to honor. Gendry Waters, please step forward,” Arya watches as Gendry walks to the center of the hall to stand in front of the queen with a confused look on his face.

“Gendry without you here to forge the dragonglass into proper weapons we would have been at an even more extreme disadvantage and I cannot overlook your hard work done to protect the living. Please kneel,” poor Gendry seemed even more confused now, but he listened and knelt down in front of her.

“It has come to my attention that your father was Robert Baratheon. If you accept, I wish to legitimize you into house Baratheon as the only living member of the house,” Gendry’s eyes dart over to Arya and he flashes a small smile, he knew this was her request.

“Aye, I gladly accept your grace,”

“Then you shall rise as Gendry Baratheon, Lord of Storms End and Lord Paramount of the Stormlands,” Gendry rises and the queen looks over to Arya and offers her a soft smile to show her she was a woman of her word. The hall breaks out into applause over the new Lord. Once the queen finishes her speech by announcing the upcoming wedding between her and Jon, and everyone begins eating and dancing Arya makes her way over to her sister who was standing along the walls watching everything.

“And you thought _I_ was the weird one, what are you doing hiding over here you’re the Lady of Winterfell,” she asks her.

Sansa sighs “Everyone is moving on with their lives and I just feel… stuck,”

“Because of Ramsay?”

Her sister nods “No one understands what a monster he was, and when I walk through these halls I just feel haunted by him,”

“Theon understands,” Sansa smiles at that and nods slightly.

“He is a good man, don’t push him away because you’re afraid of what the Northern Lords will think,”

“Arya, it’s not practical you know that!”

“Fuck practicality! If he makes you feel safe and loved than that’s all you should care about, you’ve been through enough shit in your life you deserve some shred of happiness,”

“We could never have children,”

“Leave the heir creating to Jon, just think for yourself for once in your life Sansa,”

Her sister nods “Ugh Gods you’re so annoying! Fine!”

Arya smiles “Oh um, can I ask you something?” she continues her voice now a whisper.

“Of course, what is it?”

“Well… who can I get moon tea from who won’t end up informing Jon about it?”

Sansa’s eyes go wide “Arya! You’re planning on sleeping with Gendry?”

“Ummm, I may have already done that… twice,” she tells her sister sheepishly.

Sansa rolls her eyes “I should have expected that from you! Come on we can go steal some from Maester Wilkin’s supplies,”

“Thank you Sansa!” Arya says before rushing off with her sister. If you had told the Arya who had last been at Winterfell with her family that she would be running around the castle halls trying to find moon tea so she wouldn’t get pregnant since she had fallen in love with a man, that girl would have laughed right in your face and said “that’s not me,”. Arya knew that Gendry would never force her to become or act like the lady of storms end though and that’s why he was perfect for her. He knew her for who she was, for _what_ she was and he still loved her. She was his, and he was hers and it would always be that way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! Next chapter will be about Jon seeing something he NEVER wanted to see, and the final chapter will be an epilogue of sorts.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay second to last chapter! next one will be the epilogue.

After Arya and Sansa went on their thieving adventure together, Arya went to the forge to shoot arrows like she had before the battle. She almost shoots a slightly tipsy Gendry in the head when he comes stumbling into the tunnel. She puts the bow down and looks at him.

“I’m not Gendry Waters anymore. I’m Gendry Baratheon, Lord of Storm’s End, by order of the queen!”

The corners of her mouth turn up in a kind smile “Congratulations!” she tells him, even though he already knew she knew since it was her idea to begin with. Suddenly he pulls her to him in a searing kiss and pulls away to look into her eyes.

“Now I don’t know how to be lord of anything, I hardly know how to use a fork. All I know is that you’re beautiful, and I love you, and none of it will be worth anything if you’re not with me, so be with me” he rambles as she stares at him silently. He gets down on one knee and suddenly Arya is afraid of the next words to come out of his mouth.

“Be my wife, be the lady of Storm’s End,” he adds. Arya kneels down beside him and kisses him, giving him all she has and they stand up together. When she pulls their lips apart she softly smiles at him.

“You’re going to make a wonderful Lord, but I’m not a lady. I’ve never been one. That’s not me. I love you, isn’t that enough?” she pleads as his face falls. She thought he understood that she didn’t want to be a lady of some castle, or he at least wouldn’t make her act like one but it seemed like she could be wrong.

“If you love me why won’t you marry me?”

“Because it’s not that simple you stupid bull! Acting like a lady has always been Sansa’s strong suit, and I can’t be what you want me to be, it’s not possible, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you less,”

He shakes his head at her words “No, _you_ aren’t understanding! I know you Arya, and I’m a little hurt that you think I would be just like any other man in the seven kingdoms who forces you to act like a proper lady and do nothing but have children. You could still do what you wanted and still be whoever you want to be, but you just have a home and a husband to come back to. A family,” he tells her.

Gods he really was too good for her wasn’t he? She places both hands on the side of his face.

“Can you accept not now as an answer? There is one thing I still need to do on my own, but I can promise you I will come back to you,” she asks, hoping it would be enough for now.

He smiles and nods “Yes, I waited years to see you again, I can handle waiting a bit longer,” he tells her as he pulls her body flush against his and she can see the desire pooling in his eyes. She crushes her lips against his and it’s different than their kisses earlier. Those were loving and tender, these were desperate and possessive. He walks her towards his workbench and turns her so her back is to him. She grinds her ass against the bulge in his pants and he growls in response. He roughly jerks her pants down before fumbling with his own belt. Arya like having control in almost every situation, but something about Gendry’s roughness right now sent a pool of wetness down her thighs, so she could handle relinquishing control for now. What were the Baratheon words again? Ours is the Fury? Hm, Gendry certainly fit those words now. As Gendry finally get his pants off him he presses a hand against her back so her upper body is leaning against the table and without warning he thrusts into her and she moans at the sensation. His hands reach around to grab at her breasts as he picks up a quick pace of hard thrusts. She gasps as his fingers roll one of her nipples into a hardened peak and he bends down to place open mouthed kisses on her neck and shoulder. Gods he felt so good from this position, each roll of his hips went so wonderfully deep inside her and she cries out his name from the pleasure she feels. He pulls her upper body back up against his so every part of them is touching, and he turns her head around to claim her mouth with a passionate kiss. It was like he was trying to consume her in every way possible. As his thrusts become more erratic he moves a hand down her body to rub tight circles around her clit to try and make her finish before he did. He pulls away from her mouth to growl “You’re _mine_ ,” before pressing his lips to hers again and claiming her mouth with his tongue. She moaned into his mouth as warmth spread through her entire body like wildfire as her orgasm rips through her body and seconds later Gendry is following her over the edge, smiling against her mouth as they both come down from their high. Arya pulls away from Gendry and turns her head to find herself staring at Jon, who was staring at them in shock. She sees many emotions flash through his eyes from denial, to anger, to sadness, and back to anger again. The couple rushes to pull up their pants and Gendry starts to stumble on his words in an attempt to explain what her brother had just seen, but no real words managed to come out of his mouth. Jon puts his hand on Longclaw’s pommel and begins to prowl towards Gendry like a wolf on the hunt. Arya pulls out her dagger and blocks Jon’s path and he glares at her.

“Arya, what the fuck did I just see?”

“Do you want the dirty details, or is that rhetorical?” she asks with a smirk and her brother grimaces.

“Gods no, no details. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t have his head!”

Arya moves her dagger up until it’s against his throat.

“Because father’s dead, and you’re not him! You have no right to control me!”

“Lord Stark would have _wanted_ me to look out for you and your siblings. I couldn’t protect Sansa or Rickon from Ramsey, but I can still keep you safe,” he admits. At this Arya takes the dagger off from Jon’s pulse point.

“Jon, you don’t need to protect me. I can handle myself, besides Gendry here wouldn’t harm me,”

“Arya you don’t even know him, how do you know that!”

“I _do_ know him. We traveled together back when I first left King’s Landing, he was there for me when you weren’t and when I couldn’t fight for myself. Plus he’s the Lord of Storm’s End now, he isn’t bastard,”

Jon frowns but finally lets go of his sword.

“So that’s why you ran off to question Dany earlier, you asked her to legitimize him. I’m still not happy about this and if I ever see what I just saw again I will geld him, you have a room Arya for Gods sake USE it,” he scolds her. Arya laughs.

“Yeah, alright because you’re the right person to judge someone’s relationship. Your child with Daenerys will be your cousin, right?” she says, arching one of her eyebrows up slightly.

“Arya I get it, I will leave you and your relationship with Gendry alone. And it doesn’t bother Dany and that is all I care about,” he says before turning around and stalking off to probably go brood somewhere. Gendry looks at Arya and begins to laugh and she joins in.

“How would Jon’s kid be his cousin?” he asks her

“Oh, well they probably won’t ever formally announce it but Jon is the legitimate son of Rheagar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, so Daenerys is his aunt,” she tells him. He nods in understanding.

“Not the oddest thing to happen in Westeros though!” at this Arya chuckles in agreement. She walks up to Gendry and pulls him into a tight embrace, resting her head against his chest. After a few minutes she pulls away and looks at him.

“So Lord Gendry, will you stay here or should I meet you at Storm’s End?”

“Storm’s End, it’s closer for you,” he responds and pulls her into a gentle goodbye kiss. Arya offers him a soft smile and turns around to walk to the stables and she saddles up a kind grey mare that she was fond of. As she rides out of Winterfell and travels down the King’s Road she notices Jaime Lannister riding not too far ahead of her. She eases her mare into a trot in order to ride up alongside him.

“Where are you off to, thought you would stay here with Ser Brianne?”

“I need to go back to King’s Landing, why are you leaving?”

“You aren’t going back to Cersei are you? And I’m going there as well, looks like we will be keeping each other company, that is, if you aren’t betraying Queen Daenerys,”

He shakes his head “No, not exactly going back to her. Not sure if I will return though. Someone needs to end my sister before she causes anymore harm,” Arya smirks at that.

“Well you’ll have to beat me too it, I’ve had her on my list for years,”

“You’re the stubborn one aren’t you? You might have killed the Night King, but Cersei is smarter than anyone you have ever met. She still trusts me, it’s her weakness. I am the only one who has a shot at getting to her, I can’t let you get killed over this, you still have many years left,”

“If I’m not the one to kill her, I am sure as hell _watching_ it, and we have the entire ride to discuss who will get to deal the final blow, I won’t give up that easy Kingslayer,” she says with a smile and the two of them fall into a comfortable silence as they ride towards King’s Landing towards their very likely deaths.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This story is now officially a fix-it for season 8

In the weeks she journeyed with Jaime Lannister she learned a great deal about knight and learned that he was far more honorable than she had previously thought. He did inform her about what he had done to Bran and while it made her blood boil with anger there wasn’t anything she could do to fix her brother now. Besides he seemed oddly at peace with his wheelchair bound state, no reason for her to add yet another name to her list when it was so close to being finished. As they neared the gates of King’s Landing and snuck their way inside Jaime turns to look at Arya

            “I once made a promise to your mother a long time ago that I would return you and your sister to her care. I may have failed her while she lived, but I don’t intend to fail her again. You _will_ make it out of here alive do you understand me?”

            “But I don’t care what happens to me, I’ve looked forward to this day for so many years!”

            “Don’t be so naïve little wolf. Revenge won’t get you very far in life, look at what happened to your brother. If I picked up on things clearly that blacksmith is hopelessly in love with you, don’t throw that away over something as fleeting as vengeance,”

            “Aren’t you throwing away love, for Brianne?” she questions him and at that he sighs.

            “I am, but not for the reason you’re willing to. I watched Cersei become what she is and I did nothing to stop her because my love for her blinded me. I always loved her in spite of what she was, and that makes me just as bad as her. When King Aerys succumbed to the voices in his head I did my duty for the realm, I must do that again. So if things take a turn for the worst I want you to run as far away from this city as you can, ok?” he asks and she considers what he has said for a moment. She had let her anger towards Cersei and the others fuel her path to survival for so long, but she didn’t really need to fight to survive anymore. It had been her and her alone for all those years, wondering if she was possibly the last Stark left alive in this world only for her to find her family again, to find her blacksmith again, and her wolf. Gendry would never be himself if she died here today. He would probably follow in the footsteps of his father, forever trying to drown out the grief of his lost Stark woman with endless wine. She wouldn’t dare do that to him.

“Jaimie,” she starts and the Lannister looks at her waiting for her next words.

“Thank you” she says with a sigh of relief. They continued their walk to the Red Keep in silence. Jaime was recognized at the gates almost immediately and was allowed entrance, bringing Arya with him stating that she was his squire. She couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness as they made their way to the throne room, as the last time she had been here had been the day that her childhood had died along with her father. She was pulled from her thoughts by the sounds of people yelling that the armies had arrived outside the gates. Seems as though Queen Daenerys had a similar idea that she had; the sooner Cersei was gone the better. Before they could enter the keep Jamie pulls her to the side.

“If we want this to go the way we planned, I should offer you as a prisoner to her,” he whispers to her in a tone so hushed those not as well trained as her would have never been able to hear him. She nods in agreement and places her hands in front of her for him to clasp in chains. They were lose enough for her to be able to get out of if needed, but not too lose that the queen would notice that something was awry. He marched her up the many steps of the keep and into the throne room. Cersei sat on the throne with the mountain and Qyburn at her side. She looked like a shell of the clever and sharp lioness Arya had known as a girl. Her long, shiny golden locks had been sheered away, leaving her with a closely cropped style similar to a man’s. The color even seemed to be dull now, appearing ashy. Her face was expressionless, much like the mask Arya herself used to wear, but the queens green eyes seemed to almost bulge out of her head, showing mostly the whites and to Arya she looked the vision of a Mad Queen.

“So dear brother, you survived the oh so deadly battle you begged me to send forces to. Seems like I made the right decision in ignoring your pleas. Why do you return?”

“I told you I wanted to fight for the living, I never said I wouldn’t return to your side if I lived,” Cersei’s expression softens into an almost normal state at his words. He had been right, he was her weakness. Her eyes drift over to Arya and the wall is built back up again.

“Who is this?”

“A prisoner. As a gift to you, in the hopes that you can forgive me for leaving. It is Arya Stark,” The queen scoffs

“Arya Stark is dead. She hasn’t been seen since the day her father was arrested,” she says ice dripping from her voice, causing Arya’s blood to boil.

“I watched as you did nothing to stop your tyrant son from beheading him just because he learned your secret! I should have had Nymeria rip out his throat after she bit his arm, it would have saved the realm a whole lot of pain and suffering,” she spits the words like venom. Cersei’s eyes widen at her words.

“By the gods, you really are Arya Stark! Since the Targaryen bitch didn’t surrender earlier when I beheaded her friend, maybe she will listen when it’s your life on the line. Afterall Euron failed me when he wasn’t able to kill one of her dragons, how did someone manage to ride the other one?”

Arya looks at Cersei with a coy smile on her face “It was Jon who rides him. His true name is Aegon Targaryen, son of Rheagar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark,” she states with pride. It didn’t matter that she was telling her this information, since she wouldn’t live long enough to tell others. She just wanted to play with her, to relish in the desperation she would feel when Death came to claim her. Cersei begins to panic at this, realizing that Jon and Daenerys were a greater threat than she had ever thought them to be. A few moments pass and Euron Greyjoy comes stumbling in dripping wet.

“My Queen, the dragons have destroyed the Iron Fleet and have burned the Golden Company to ashes along with the front gate. They now wait on the walls of the city for your surrender,” he says, struggling for air the whole time. Cersei’s face becomes dark.

“The wild fire underneath the city should go off any moment now. The rest of Westeros’s citizens will believe it was the Dragon Bitch who burned it, and will kill her before she even gets a chance to rule,”

“But you will die in the process!” she says confused.

“When you play the game of thrones you win, or you die. I intend for everyone to die, rather than someone else win the game over me,” she responds as if that was the most obvious solution in the world. Jamie wordlessly takes the cuffs off of Arya’s wrists “Go, I don’t believe anyone else will be leaving the keep…”  he whispers to her trailing off at the end. Cersei had begun pacing and whispering incoherent thoughts to herself and Arya knew she was truly mad. Before she could disappear in the silent way she comes and goes, the Kingslayer thrust his Valyrian steel sword into her hands “This sword was made from your father’s great sword, it belongs back in the North. And Arya, don’t trust Tyrion,” he whispered and with that she left the Red Keep. The last thing she saw before exiting the throne room was Jamie running his dagger through Cersei’s chest and her collapsing into his arms as tears rolled down his face. Kingslayer, Queenslayer, Kinslayer, Jamie Lannister was now all of those, but he had just done his duty, even though he still loved her. Arya would make sure the history books wrote him as a savior, and a good man who protected the realm. She found a boat at the shore near the hidden entrance to the Keep and she found that odd. The only person who knew about this secret shore was Tyrion. He must have betrayed Dany somehow if he had a small ship ready to escape the capital. That didn’t matter right now, she needed to get only a few ways off shore in order to survive the blast. She began rowing as hard and fast as she could and even though she was in shape it got tiring quickly. “ _No wonder Gendry got so strong from this”_ she thought to herself. Once she had made it out to the burning wreaks of the Iron Fleet she allowed herself to stop as she watched the city with anticipation. “ _Please don’t let Jon be on foot in there”_ she prayed to the Gods. As she finished her thought the city shook and was engulfed in lethal green flames, and the screams of those inside could collectively be heard even from the bay. She hoped those received quick deaths, although she had heard that burning alive was quite the opposite. She picked the oars back up and made her way back to shore outside the city where she found the Unsullied, Davos, and Tyrion waiting. She took up a place standing beside them and watch in quiet horror as the smoke enveloped the city.

            It had taken an entire week for the fire to finally stop feasting on King’s Landing. When it did Arya walked with Jon and Daenerys’s through the city towards the keep. Even though she had won, the Queen did not seem happy. A new stream of tears rolled down her face each time she saw the small dark imprint of what used to be a child etched into the bricks of the buildings still standing. Stepping up to what used to be the Red Keep, Arya noticed ash falling from the sky like snow. It was hauntingly beautiful. The only thing left of the great building Aegon the Conqueror had built was the Iron Throne, still standing as if it were mocking all of them, like it was the real enemy they could never defeat. Arya stood next to Jon as Dany walked over to the throne and placed a hesitant hand on it.

“All my life I’ve dreamed of this moment, but I _never_ wanted it like this. I once told my advisors that I didn’t want to be Queen of the Ashes and yet here I am, exactly that,” she pauses to let out a sigh.

“If I had known she would do this too them, I would have thought of some way to save them, to protect them,” she adds as she removes her hand from the throne with a new sense of clarity taking a hold of her and she instead places the hand over the round swell of her belly where her child grew.

“When my dragons had been stolen from me I had a vision where I could finally touch the throne, for it to finally be mine. The keep was destroyed with what I thought was snow, but now know was ash gently falling down around me. I heard their cries just as I was about to touch the one thing I had always wanted, and I knew I had to make a choice. My children or the throne, I could not have them both. I chose my children then, and I will choose my babe now,” she tells Jon and Arya with a faint smile on her face. With a earth shaking thud Drogon and Rhaegal land next to their mother among the rubble, as if summoned. The queen sits down in the throne before uttering one word “Dracarys” she speaks in high valaryian. At her command the great beasts let out a nearly black stream of flames and it only took a few moments before the Iron Throne was a pool of molten iron and steel at their feet. When the intense heat and light had dulled and Arya looked back at the place the throne had been she saw Daenerys rising from the lava. It was in that moment that Arya knew the realm would be well protected by the Dragon Queen, with Jon’s help of course. She was not a person to bend the knee and kneel to anyone, but she felt a great need to show her respect towards the great queen and so she knelt down on one knee and looked at Dany in awe. Dany simply rolled her eyes and motioned for Arya to stand “The Hero of the Dawn will not kneel before me! I did what should have been done years ago, besides we have plenty of work to do in order to make this city livable aga—” before she could finish her words to Arya she was cut off by Jon roughly pulling her to him in a passionate kiss. Seems like he was overcome with emotion in the moment as Arya had. She turns around and walks from the keep to give them privacy and grabs one of the horses they had ridden into the city and she begins her ride away towards her new home. The life of No One had ended today, but the life of Arya Stark had just begun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Hi Hi everyone, I'm so sorry for the long wait. I had some writer's block on this chapter but I really think I found my stride at the end of it. I hope you enjoy and get ready for the completely fluff filled final chapter ASAP


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter everyone!! Be warned, this is nothing but fluff. Fluff so sweet you will need to see the dentist after reading because your teeth will be that rotten. Hope you all enjoyed this adventure. Inspired by the song Black and White by Will Trotman Band (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpfoXFyItAQ) also by Good Thing Go by Quinn XCII (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIqUnbTzpNg)

Seven years had passed since the destruction of King’s Landing and the founding of Dragon’s Rest began. The new monarchs were absolutely beloved by the people of the six kingdoms and were hailed as Queen Daenerys the Gentle Hearted and King Aegon the Good. Of course her cousin still went by Jon, but for formal occasions he used the name Aunt Lyanna had given him as a sign of respect for her. Only a few short months into their reign the Queen gave birth to their daughter, who they named Misella who had dark curls and violet eyes. Two years later they had a son with silver hair and brooding grey eyes, that Jon insisted be named Aemon after the kind and wise Maester who had advised him all those years ago up North at Castle Black. Sansa had gained the North’s independence and was named the Queen of the North. She had married Theon and not a single one of the Northern Lords opposed her on that choice after knowing what she had been through with Ramsay. All Arya cared about was that they loved each other and that her sister had finally found some sense of happiness. Many wondered what the two would do about an heir since of Theon’s predicament, but the reserved couple quieted those voices down by adopting a babe who had lost its family in the explosion Cersei caused. They had named the little boy Ned, and he would never fully understand just how loved her truly was by Sansa and Theon. He was a lucky boy. And what had Arya been up to? Well her and Gendry spent about two years sailing to discover what was West of Westeros and found many lands filled with interesting people and cultures. They made sure to bring back little pieces from each city. After her wandering heart had been satisfied and they landed back in Oldtown preparing to finally reach Storm’s End she looked at Gendry and said three words.

 

“Ask me again,”

 

It took her bullheaded blacksmith a few seconds to even comprehend what she meant before he broke out into a smile, understanding at last and dropped onto one knee.

 

“Marry me?” He had asked her. And marry him she did. It wasn’t easy for either of them to adapt to a tame life of being Lord and Lady of a castle but they learned together, and it made them stronger. Besides, whenever they got too restless they would take Nymeria out into the woods for a “hunting” trip that was really just them camping and enjoying time together away from the stress of their people. Two years into their marriage Arya began to face her toughest challenge yet. Motherhood. The day she learned she was with child was the most terrifying of her life, they weren’t trying to get pregnant, but they weren’t _not_ trying either. Honestly Arya didn’t even thing she would be able to have children after all the stress and damage her body had endured over the years, but yet she was wrong. The only thing that calmed her fears was knowing that Gendry would be there by her side. He would be such a spectacular father. The day of the babes birth was long, painful, and Arya almost lost her life that day but that ordeal didn’t even matter the minute their son was placed into her arms. He had his father’s beautiful blue eyes and she realized that she might love this small creature even more than she did Gendry. They named him Robb, after her brother.

Now she stood in the Dragon Pit of the capital for Aemon’s fifth name day celebration, watching her son play with the Prince and Princess. She smiled as she watched little Aemon show off the dragon egg he had been allowed to pick from Drogon’s clutch to Robb, while Robb lifted his Direwolf pup in the air in an attempt to compete over who had the better companion. How had the Direwolf pup came to be? Well Nymeria disappeared during one of their trips to Winterfell and when she returned a beautiful russet colored male Direwolf with pale green eyes was at her side. He was weary of humans at first due to born wild, but once he saw Nymeria’s affection for her girl and the blacksmith the male accepted them as pack. She took to calling him shadow, after the way he never left his mates side. Aemon seemed defeated at the fact that his animal wasn’t hatched yet, while Robb had a lively pup to play with. Seeing the young Prince’s frown caused Drogon to carefully move his body to wrap his wing around his “brother” and blow a puff of smoke in Robb’s face, causing Misella and Arya to burst out into laughter. She knew the great beast would never dare to harm her son, so that’s why she was able to find the situation humorous. Without her noticing Gendry came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her swollen belly. Their second child would be expected any moment now, so they decided to stay in the capital so Jon and Dany could meet the babe. Arya smiled and leaned back into her husband’s tall, strong body as he gently kissed her cheek. She had never expected her life to turn out so… peaceful in a way. She had previously condemned herself to a lifetime of solitude but Gendry had to come back and sway her mind. The Assassin and the Blacksmith. The Wolf and the Stag. What an unlikely pair they seemed to be, predator and prey not just learning to coexist, but learning to love each other in the fiercest of ways. He was hers and she was his, until the end of their days.

**Author's Note:**

> I plan on writing two more chapters. One for after the Battle of Winterfell, and one for life after all the wars.


End file.
